"Czech Television and Czech Radio currently have the highest audience and listener numbers in the Czech Republic, with licensing fees generating 450 million ($532 million) annually. For three decades, the public broadcaster has functioned successfully and independently. But during his election campaign, the multibillionaire and right-wing populist Andrej Babis announced that he wanted to weaken the public broadcaster and bring it under his political control. Ultimately, he wants to destroy it."
"The plan is to abolish licensing fees, which amount to some 8 per household per month. The government has also promised in a statement "further legislative changes, which will result in an updating of the definition of public broadcaster, more efficient use of resources and the elimination of duplicate costs." Its model, it said, is Slovakia, which in recent years has come under the complete control of Prime Minister Robert Fico's government."
Czech Television and Czech Radio have the highest audience and listener numbers in the Czech Republic, with licensing fees generating 450 million ($532 million) annually. The public broadcaster operated successfully and independently for three decades. Andrej Babis campaigned to weaken the public broadcaster and bring it under his political control, stating an ultimate intent to destroy it. He won the parliamentary elections in October 2025 and formed a coalition government with his ANO movement, the Motorists for Themselves party, and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party. The government plans to abolish licensing fees (about 8 per household per month) and pursue legislative changes to redefine the public broadcaster, increase efficiency, and eliminate duplicate costs, modeling reforms on Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico with Slovak officials assisting implementation.
Read at www.dw.com
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